Mick Kinane, the jockey of Hawk Wing, Rock of Gibraltar, Montjeu, Giant's Causeway, Galileo, Johannesburg, etc. Mick Kinane--8st 4lbs--52.5 kgs Born on June 22nd, 1959, Mick rode his first winner on Musicari at Leopardstown on March 19th, 1975. It is amazing to think that in his apprentice days Mick had problems controlling his weight! Since then he has notched up 13 jockeys' championships in Ireland and was the leading jockey in terms of prizemoney won in the UK in 2001, thanks to Galileo. His style in the saddle is very distinguished with a perch like seat with toes-in-the irons in mid-race before getting into a neat tuck in a finish. He is equally effective riding from the front or from behind but best of all he is the master tactician, has an acute sense of pace in a race and is fully aware of how he is doing in relation to the others.

If Dettori is the Beckham of racing, Kinane is more akin to Ronaldo....scoring with a killer instinct and it is a pleasure to watch. Originally 15 years with Dermot Weld, he teamed up very successfully with Aidan O'Brien and John Magnier to form the most powerful racing team at Coolmore between 1998 and 2003. Regarded by most as the perfect jockey, Mick rarely gets his riding wrong. When he has, such as when he dropped a rein on Giant's Causeway in the final metres of a dramatic 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic, he would have been the person most annoyed with himself. Sure enough, revenge came very sweet when he romped away with the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Belmont Park in 2001 with Johannesburg. Mick's big-race ride on Rock of Gibraltar in the Breeders' Cup Mile also left a lot to be desired. The excuses offered clouded the fact that "The Rock" was still last but one with 10 lengths to make up (off a slowish pace) as they entered the straight.

It is easy with hindsight, but no amount of superhorse can afford to give up that amount of ground in a race of that calibre. Surely he could have had him 2 or 3 lengths closer "in contact" with the field ! Mick is the only jockey to have won the English & Irish Derby, the Belmont Stakes, the Arc, the Japan Cup, the Melbourne Cup, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Breeders' Cup Turf. Not even his fellow jockey jet-setters such as Lester Piggott, Cash Asmussen or Steve Cauthen achieved that. In 2003, Mick celebrated his 100th Group 1 win with probably the most sensational. At Newbury, in the Lockinge Stakes, Mick & Hawk Wing blitzed the field in the early stages. Three furlongs out the field was toiling and they eventually streaked to an 11 length win in the face of a strong head wind which saw them post a time just 1 second outside the track record in rain-softened going.

The next weekend at The Curragh, Mick scored a sensational Group 1 double by taking the Tattersalls Gold Cup on Black Sam Bellamy and denying 1-3 on French hotpot Six Perfections in the Irish 1,000 Guineas on the Aidan O'Brien-trained Yesterday. Mick's Photo Gallery GROUP 1 Winners: He has won all the Irish Group 1 races that exist. The UK ones missing from his Group 1 cabinet are the 1,000 Guineas, Coronation Cup, Yorkshire Oaks, the Sprint Cup and QE II Stakes. He has only been without Group 1 winners in 1984 & 1991 since he first started the sequence in 1982......not a bad effort! Mick rode 12 Group 1 winners in 2000, an amazing 17 wins in 2001, 14 in 2002 and 8 in 2003 In 2002, he steered Rock of Gibraltar to a 7th Group 1 win on the trot, a world record.

In the usual jockey merry-go round of late 2003, it was announced that the Ballydoyle team were dispensing of Mick's services in order to bring a chap 20 years his junior in the form of Jamie Spencer. However, 2004 did not go at all well for Ballydoyle or Spencer. Mick in the meantime had teamed up with the guru of Irish trainers, John Oxx. In the 2004 Irish Champion Stakes, Mick stole the milk from all the other kittens when swooping onto the scene in a magic late rush on Azamour. These come-from-behind rides were repeated in 2005 again with Azamour in thr King George, Proclamation in the Sussex Stakes and Electrocutionist in the International - the last of which has to be visually the most exciting race since Dancing Brave's Arc in 1986. As soon as it was apparent that Dettori would not make it back in time from injury to ride the magnificent Italian colt, Kinane had been chalked up for the ride a full two weeks before the race and was licking his lips at the prospect.

His Group 1 tally to October 4th, 2005, is 117, split across 9 racing nations namely: Ireland:..32 Vodafone Derby: O'Brien's best chance - Telegraph Vodafone Derby: O'Brien's best chance By J A McGrath 7:15PM BST 08 Jun 2001 THE CONTRASTING styles of two of Europe's "master" trainers face the biggest test on the Turf in a vintage running of the Vodafone Derby at Epsom today. There may be only 12 runners but all the ingredients are there for the ultimate test of a generation over a mile and a half. Aidan O'Brien, who won yesterday's Oaks with Imagine, sends the unbeaten Galileo over from Ireland in search of the Epsom Classic double , while Newmarket-based Sir Michael Stoute supplies two of the top three in the betting, the brilliant Sagitta 2,000 Guineas winner Golan and the improving Dante Stakes winner Dilshaan. At 31, O'Brien is a prodigy in the training ranks.

In his relatively short time at Ballydoyle, as successor to the legendary Vincent O'Brien (no relation), he has sent out two other English Classic winners, King of Kings (1998 2,000 Guineas) and Shahtoush (1998 Oaks), as well as preparing the triple Champion Hurdler, Istabraq . He adopts an approach to his impeccably-bred, supremely-talented team of three-year-olds like a primary school teacher would care for his young pupils. On a recent trip to Ballydoyle, I found him ever-watchful, rattling off names and pedigrees with machine-gun rapidity as the string tackled the all-weather gallop at a strong canter. This group of Classic contenders, sons of mega-rich sires such as Sadler's Wells and Storm Cat, all appeared wonderfully relaxed. It is an atmosphere conducive to bringing out the best in a breed of animal that often requires massaging of the mind more than excessive exercising of the limbs.

Related Articles 15 March 2000: Cheltenham Festival: Istabraq joins elite after third title win 08 Jun 2001 O'Brien, quietly-spoken and naturally reticent, is a thinker. Galileo is his sixth runner in the Derby, in which he has so far drawn a blank, but he is in no doubt that this colt represents his best chance . "He has such speed, but also he has a wonderful, long-striding galloping action, which indicates he should have no trouble with the Derby trip," O'Brien points out. Later, when the string had been dismounted and were having a pick of grass, O'Brien took time out to admire Galileo, who is a son of Sadler's Wells, out of Urban Sea, herself the winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. "Look at his eyes," the trainer insisted. "They are wide apart - and that is something you don't often find.

I have found that is usually a good sign in a horse." O'Brien is heavy on emphasis that Ballydoyle is a team effort, with the gallops men and stable lads as important to the operation as he himself and retained jockey Mick Kinane. "We have varied the lads who have ridden Galileo in the morning. I like to hear different views of his progress," he pointed out. O'Brien remains as confident as I have heard and seen him about the prospects of winning the Derby with Galileo. You will never hear the young trainer making bold predictions in the style of American trainer D Wayne Lukas, but the little hints that have been dropped along the way have been noticed. If O'Brien is a prodigy, Sir Michael Stoute is the established Classic trainer, with a knack of being able to get his colts to produce on the big day .

Twice successful in the Derby, with Shergar (1981) and Shahrastani (1986), he will be the first to remind you: "It's been 15 years since our last Derby, and that's a long time in racing." Stoute, 55, is too young to be an elder statesman, too energetic, inquisitive and adventurous in his approach, to be categorised as one of the established old school. Ask him, and he will readily tell you, there are still a string of training ambitions to be achieved. In contrast to the quiet O'Brien, Stoute is ever-ready to explode into laughter, rap a table with his fist, or stamp a foot, just to keep the listener up with the pace. But this approach hides a clinical, highly-professional insight into training horses to attain their full potential. Stoute describes Golan as having "a wonderful mind," a colt who is relatively easy to train. But with Derby colts, it is always the one who makes most progress from the time of his preceding outing.

In this instance, Dilshaan might well have made more visible progress since his Dante Stakes win at York than Golan has since his Classic victory at Newmarket, although the latter is notoriously lazy at home. I see this year's Derby being dominated by Galileo, with Dilshaan as the chief danger, ahead of Golan and Perfect Sunday, the best of the Barry Hills-trained quartet. I expect the top four in the betting to run in the first four in a very high-class running of the Classic. On a personal note, my very best wishes to BBC Radio commentator, Peter Bromley, the great broadcaster, who retires after more than four decades behind the microphone after calling today's Derby. Jockey Mick Kinane Retires | BloodHorse.com Jockey Mick Kinane Retires Photo: AP Photo Mick Kinane, who rode Cartier Award winner Sea The Stars, has followed that brilliant colt into retirement. Comment Mick Kinane, whose profile has never been higher thanks to his stunningly successful partnership with Cartier Award winner Sea The Stars, has followed that brilliant colt into retirement, according to the Racing Post.

The 50-year-old jockey rebuffed questions on his future that inevitably arose when Sea The Stars signed off his dazzling career by winning his final race, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) at Longchamp in October. The highly celebrated rider said at the time he wanted to fulfill commitments in South Africa and Japan, both of which are now gone, before entering into any decision about retirement, which has now been taken. In a statement released to the Press Association, Kinane, who was named Flat Jockey of the Year at the Horserace Writers' and Photographers' Association awards Dec. 7, said: "I have decided this is the right time to retire from race riding. "At 50, I still feel fit and sharp enough to do any horse justice but, after the season I have just had in partnership with Sea The Stars, I have the privilege of being able to end my career as a jockey on an incredible high and that's what I want to do.

"I leave with a huge sense of gratitude to all the great horses I have ridden, all the great trainers whose genius developed those champions and everybody else in racing, from the stable lads to the owners, who have made me deeply thankful for my involvement in the game.” Kinane, who will still ride out for trainer John Oxx for the time being, added: "Teamwork is the key to success in racing and I have been blessed with some of the best alliances a jockey could have. "The most important support of all throughout my career has, naturally, come from my wife, Catherine, along with my family and friends. Both Catherine and our two precious daughters, Sinead and Aisling, know how much they mean to me." Sea The Stars provided Kinane with the perfect end to a glittering career that yielded numerous group I triumphs.

He won 10 English classics: the Epsom Derby with Commander In Chief (1993), Galileo (’01), and Sea The Stars; the Epsom Oaks with Shahtoush (’98) and Imagine (’01); the Two Thousand Guineas with Tirol (’90), Entrepreneur (’97), King of Kings (’98), and Sea The Stars; and the St. Leger with Milan (’01). Domestically, Kinane was also highly successful, winning 14 Irish classics as well as a record seven Irish Champion Stakes. He was the leading rider in Ireland 13 times and was the leading rider. Kinane's talent was not restricted to Britain and Ireland. Kinane can count three Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes, a Melbourne Cup (Aust-I), a Belmont Stakes (gr. I), and three victories at the Breeders Cup. His Belmont score came on Go and Go in 1990. Kinane won the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) on Johannesburg.

He rode High Chaparral to victory in the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. IT) and was aboard that horse the following year in a dead-headed win with Johar in the Turf. The son of Tommy Kinane, a leading jump jockey who won on Monksfield in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, England, he was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, June 22, 1959. His apprenticeship was with trainer Liam Browne. The first winner came on his first ride when Muscari scored at Leopardstown on March 19, 1975 and his initial classic victory came on the same trainer’s Dara Monarch in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I) in 1982. He switched to be trainer Dermot Weld’s number one jockey in late 1983 and enjoyed 14 years of great success. He turned down an offer from Sheikh Mohammed to be the owner’s retained rider in 1992, preferring to stay in Ireland.

Kinane joined Coolmore operation in 1998, winning 58 group/grade I victories for trainer Aidan O'Brien in just five years. He left that job in late 2003 and soon teamed up with John Oxx who paid tribute: "Michael Kinane was just the complete professional in every way. “Not only was he a top jockey with great skill and determination, but he always conducted himself perfectly. He had a great work ethic and he never let anybody down. There has been nobody with higher standards in terms of professionalism. It was not just at the races but also helping us trainers. He had total commitment. “It was his absolute nerve for the big occasion, his calm confidence in himself and the horse plus his experience. We never discussed tactics and I went to the races waiting for it to happen. “You couldn't have predicted it or planned it, but it has been great for him to have had the best horse he ever rode in the final year of his career. It's the sort of end that he deserves.” Brian Kavanagh, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland, said today: “Michael is without doubt the best jockey that this country has produced.

“Michael changed the way in which Irish riders, and indeed Irish racing, were perceived worldwide and showed that Irish riders can more than hold their own internationally." Mark Popham contributed to this article. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2007 - Ascot Dylan Thomas Runs Away With King George 28/07/07 The Aidan O’Brien-trained Dylan Thomas was the hugely impressive winner of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes when coming home four lengths clear of Youmzain. The winner’s stablemate Scorpion made much of the running before Johnny Murtagh, aboard Dylan Thomas, asked his mount for an effort two furlongs from home and ran out a facile winner. “He’s a proper horse and we’ve always thought he was brilliant,” said O’Brien. “He likes an evenly-run mile and a quarter and this is only his second time at a mile and a half “Mick (Kinane on Scorpion) was very happy that if nobody else was going to go on then he would but Dylan Thomas’s stride is so long that it takes him time to get into gear. Scorpion gets a mile and a half well and we didn’t want a messy pace.

Dylan Thomas looked like he was doing plenty today but when he got into the straight he found another gear.” Dylan Thomas is as short as 5/1 with Coral for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and O’Brien added: “He’s got a lot of class and gets a mile and a half well so all those sort of races are open to him. We were hoping to run in the Arc last year but we had to stand back but hopefully we won't have to stand back this year. "It will depend on what happens with the others but all the big mile-and-a-quarter and mile- and-a-half races are open to him. Today was his big one for the middle of the summer. I don’t know whether the last time he went on the dirt (in the Breeders’ Cup) he might have come to the end of his tether because it was late in the year.” Asked whether the race was sub-standard this year, O’Brien added: “The King George is always a good race and to the racing public it is only as good a race as you (the press) build it up to be. In my opinion I thought it was a great race today and we had two top-notchers running in it.

“The King George is always a great race and it is only as good as the media make it out to be. I am not into hyping horses and everyone can make their own opinion, but he is a serious horse. “In other years when we have run three-year-olds, like when we won with Galileo, we have not had other horses to go for it. The race is a tough test for three-year-olds, Galileo had to have a rest afterwards and then they tend to need a break. “But we’re lucky the lads are now keeping the older horses in training and the public are able to see how good the horses really are, whereas in the past they might have gone to stud.” Murtagh added: “It was always going according to plan. I followed Richard Hills and when I eased out and let him go he won very impressively. I looked up at the big screen, which is great to have, to see how far ahead I was - it was nice and easy in the last furlong once I’d looked up! “I think whatever the pace today he would have won easily and I think he would also have been a good winner over a mile and a quarter. He’s a horse who loves to travel.

“I rode him in the Derby last year and when you look back now I didn’t do the best thing by taking up the running but he was only beaten by a head or so. We learned how he should be ridden after that. “Everybody’s knocking the race today but I’ll look forward to meeting the people who didn’t turn up today and beating them. Maybe there weren’t 20 runners or a Derby winner today but he’s a very special horse and the King George is a very special race.” Joint-owner Michael Tabor added: “He showed what a good horse he is and won very comfortably. I was always confident he would win before the race and then he was always in a good position in the race so there weren’t going to be any hard luck stories. Perhaps it’s a shame that the Derby winner wasn’t here but I’m very happy to win this.” Race 5 - King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes - Placed Quotes SECOND, THIRD AND FOURTH IN KING GEORGE ALL HAPPY The connections of Youmzain, Maraahel and Laverock - second, third and fourth respectively behind Dylan Thomas - were all contented following the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Mick Channon said of Youmzain, beaten four lengths into second by Dylan Thomas: “People were knocking the King George this year but there were some very good horses running and Youmzain has some good form to his name. “Dylan Thomas is a very good horse and our horse has run a cracker. I’m delighted. “As far as I’m concerned, he goes for the Arc now. I will see was his owner Jaber Abdullah wants to do but we can go where we want to with him now, whether it be the Breeders’ Cup or Hong Kong.” Bruce Raymond, Racing Manager to Jaber Abdullah, added: “I think Youmzain must now be considered a worthy Arc contender and will be prepared for that race.” A further three-and-a-half lengths back in third was Maraahel and Angus Gold, Racing Manager to owner Hamdan Al Maktoum, commented: “Maraahel has run another good race, we couldn’t ask for more - bar about seven lengths! “He clearly hasn’t lost his speed and he could easily go back to a mile and a quarter.

We will look at the Juddmonte International again for him.” Jockey Richard Hills added: “I was disappointed he didn’t win but he gave me everything and ran his usual good race.” Godolphin’s contender Laverock was another half-length behind Maraahel in fourth and trainer Saeed bin Suroor was satisfied. The Godolphin trainer said: “He has run very well to finish fourth in the King George and tried his best. “I think he softer ground suits him better. “We have no plans but will look at Group One races abroad for him.” Frankie Dettori, Laverock’s rider, added: “He ran good - he gave me a good feel. I felt he had a chance turning for home and he nearly got third. I was short of room for a time and that might have cost me third.

It was the best he has ever run.” 4.20pm KING GEORGE VI & QUEEN ELIZABETH STAKES (GROUP ONE) £750,000 guaranteed, 1m 4f, For 3yo+ Weights 3yo colts and geldings 8st 9lb; fillies 8st 6lb; 4yo+ colts and geldings 9st 7lb; fillies 9st 4lb Entries 37 pay £2,625 1st Forfeit 18 pay £3,000 Confirmed 8 pay £1,875 Penalty value 1st £425,850; 2nd £161,400; 3rd £80,775; 4th £40,275; 5th £20,175; 6th £10,125 1 DYLAN THOMAS (IRE) (Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor) Aidan O'Brien IRE 4-9-07 Johnny Murtagh [5] 5/4

f 2 YOUMZAIN (IRE) (Jaber Abdullah) Mick Channon 4-9-07 Richard Hughes [1] 12/1 3 MARAAHEL (IRE) (Hamdan Al Maktoum) Sir Michael Stoute 6-9-07v Richard Hills [3] 6/1 4 LAVEROCK (IRE) (Godolphin) Saeed bin Suroor 5-9-07 Frankie Dettori [7] 5 SCORPION (IRE) (Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor) Aidan O'Brien IRE 5-9-07 Michael Kinane [2] 6 SERGEANT CECIL (Terry Cooper) Rod Millman 8-9-07 Ryan Moore [4] 7 PRINCE FLORI (GER) (Stall Reni) Sascha Smrczek GER 4-9-07 Jimmy Fortune [6] 7 ran Distances: 4, 3 1/2, 1/2, 3, 5, 3 1/2 Time: 2m 31.11s Breeding

: b c Danehill (USA) - Lagrion (USA) (Diesis) Totes: Win: £2.30 Places: £1.40, £5.10 Exacta: £16.30 DYLAN THOMAS (IRE) - THE WINNER 4 b c Danehill (USA) - Lagrion (USA) (Diesis) Form: 1126/131414-11221 Owner: Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor Trainer: Aidan O’Brien IRE Jockey: Johnny Murtagh Breeder: Tower Bloodstock Dylan Thomas Top class performer Dylan Thomas is a half-brother to four winners, notably Queen’s Logic, unbeaten in five starts including the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes.

He landed his first two starts as a juvenile in 2005 before going down narrowly to Blitzkrieg in the Group Three Autumn Stakes at Salisbury, and ended his first season with a sixth place to Palace Episode in the Group One Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster. Dylan Thomas enjoyed a superb three-year-old campaign, landing the Group Two Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown, before going down by under a quarter of a length when third to Sir Percy in the Derby. He made amends in the Irish equivalent, when the impressive three and a half length victor over Gentlewave. He also took the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown after an epic tussle with brilliant mare Ouija Board and ran fourth to Notnowcato in the International stakes at York. He failed to handle the dirt surface when last of four to Bernardini in the Grade One Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, USA, in October, 2006.

This season, Dylan Thomas has shown excellent form, taking the Listed Alleged Stakes at the Curragh on April 15 and following up two weeks later when sent to France for the Group One Prix Ganay at Longchamp, coming home two lengths if front of Irish Wells. His last two outings have yielded two runner-up finishes, failing by a head to catch Notnowcato in the Group One Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on May 27, and on his latest run when beaten a length and a quarter behind French superstar Manduro in the Group One Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 20. Brilliantly ridden, he was the decisive winner of today’s King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Race Record: Runs: 15; 1st: 8; 2nd: 3; 3rd: 1; Win & Place Prize Money: £2,040,775 Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor Few in the racing world can boast better connections than Sue Magnier.

Her husband John is the most powerful man in the bloodstock world as owner of the global Coolmore breeding empire and she is daughter of arguably the greatest 20th century trainer, Vincent O'Brien, who saddled three consecutive Grand National winners and six Derby winners. Her brother David O'Brien is another Derby-winning handler while another brother, Charles, is also a successful trainer. In the 1970s John Magnier (born February 10, 1948), the son of a Co Cork dairy farmer and stud owner, teamed up with the late Robert Sangster and trainer Vincent O'Brien with the idea of buying potential stallions as yearlings. This they did with great success, counting Alleged, Be My Guest, Caerleon, El Gran Senor, Golden Fleece, Sadler's Wells and Storm Bird amongst those who were bought or bred. Magnier subsequently bought out his partners at Coolmore - which now has huge offshoots in Australia and America - and owns the nearby magnificent Ballydoyle training stable.

He has a myriad of other business interests, mainly with top jump owner J P McManus and the duo held a 28.7% stake in Manchester United FC, which they sold to American tycoon Malcolm Glazer. The pair have also invested in the Barchester chain of nursing homes, Castlebeck care homes, a property company that owns Unilever House in London, leisure clubs, including the Chelsea Harbour Club, and the Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados. His fortune is estimated at £723 million in the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List. London-born and Monaco-based Michael Tabor founded the Arthur Prince bookmaking firm before selling it for £28 million in 1995 and still has a stake in the Victor Chandler firm. Like Magnier, he spends much of the winter in Barbados and became a partner in many of the Coolmore horses in the mid 1990s after his Thunder Gulch won the 1995 Kentucky Derby.

Tabor is valued at £620 million in the Sunday Times Rich List and his colt Entrepreneur, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, took the 1997 2,000 Guineas to provide a first British Classic success for the Sue Magnier/Tabor partnership, who also won that season's Irish equivalent and Irish Derby with Desert King. The duo won the Vodafone Derby in 2001 and 2002 with Galileo and High Chaparral. In partnership with Sir Alex Ferguson, Magnier owned Rock Of Gibraltar, who won seven successive Group One victories including the 2002 2,000 Guineas. Other major wins include the 1998 2,000 Guineas with King Of Kings, the 1999 French Derby, Irish Derby, Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the 2000 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes with Montjeu and a run of five consecutive Group One successes in 2000 from Giant's Causeway.

Galileo also won the Irish Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes after his 2001 Epsom win, while further British Classic glory has come in the St Leger with Milan (2001), Brian Boru (2003) and Scorpion (2005). High Chaparral, who went on to take the 2002 Irish Derby, also landed that year's Breeders' Cup Turf and then dead-heated in the same event 12 months later. In 2005, Coolmore won both the 2000 Guineas with Footstepsinthesand and the 1,000 Guineas with Virginia Waters, while Hurricane Run took the Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. George Washington, winner of the 2,000 Guineas, was the star of the show in 2006, while Alexandrova took the Vodafone Oaks at Epsom.

This year, the Coolmore empire’s successes include the Irish Derby with Soldier Of Fortune, the Irish Oaks with Peeping Fawn and the French 2,000 Guineas with Astronomer Royal.Previous King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes wins: 2007 DYLAN THOMAS, 2006 HURRICANE RUN, 2001 GALILEO, 2000 MONTJEU Aidan O’Brien IRE Born in Wexford on October 16, 1969, Aidan Patrick O’Brien has been phenomenally successful in his relatively short training career. After a spell with Jim Bolger, he became assistant to his now wife, Anne-Marie, and her father Joe Crowley, before taking over the reins when granted a licence to train himself in 1993. His impact on the Flat was made with backing of the highest calibre in the shape of John Magnier and Coolmore, who offered O’Brien the use of Ballydoyle Stables, where the trainer’s namesake, legendary Irish handler Vincent O’Brien, had enjoyed so much success.

In 1997, in only his third season at the helm of the Tipperary yard, he confirmed his intentions on the Flat when winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas, the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Irish Derby. The following year, his first British Classic runner, King Of Kings, won the 2,000 Guineas and the second, Shahtoush, finished runner-up in the following day’s 1,000 Guineas and went on to land the Vodafone Oaks a month later. The successes have since flowed thanks to the likes of Giant’s Causeway (five successive Group Ones in 2000), Second Empire, Saffron Walden, Stravinsky, Fasliyev and an embarrassment of riches in 2001 that yielded 23 Group One successes headed by the Vodafone Derby and the Irish Derby, as well as the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, with Galileo.

Other Classic glory came via Imagine (Irish 1,000 Guineas and Vodafone Oaks), Black Minnaloushe (Irish 2,000 Guineas), Rose Gypsy (French 1,000 Guineas) and Milan (St Leger) while Mozart became champion sprinter and O’Brien totally dominated the two-year-old division as Johannesburg provided him with a first Breeders’ Cup success in the 2001 Juvenile at Belmont Park. He was champion trainer in both Britain and Ireland in 2001 and 2002. In 2002 he enjoyed success with the remarkable Rock Of Gibraltar (the only horse to win seven European Group One races in a row) and also the dual Derby and Breeders’ Cup winner High Chaparral. Rock Of Gibraltar and Hawk Wing gave O’Brien a 1-2 in the 2002 2,000 Guineas while High Chaparral and Hawk Wing provided him with the first and second in the 2002 Vodafone Derby.

The following season he sent out Yesterday to win the Irish 1,000 Guineas and Brian Boru triumphed at Doncaster in the St Leger. O’Brien enjoyed further success with Hawk Wing in the Lockinge Stakes and High Chaparral in the Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2003. It was an indifferent season for the Ballydoyle team in 2004, but O’Brien was still successful in the Shadwell Stud Middle Park Stakes with Ad Valorem and the Tattersalls Gold Cup with Powerscourt. He enjoyed an incredible Classic double at Newmarket in the spring of 2005 when he won both the 2,000 Guineas (Footstepsinthesand) and the 1,000 Guineas (Virginia Waters), and added a third British Classic with Scorpion’s success in the St Leger at Doncaster. Oratorio captured the Coral-Eclipse Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes, and O’Brien also unleashed a raft of high-class two-year-olds, ending the season with the top-rated European juvenile colt (George Washington) and filly (Rumplestiltskin).

George Washington captured the 2,000 Guineas and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in 2006, while Alexandrova took the Vodafone Oaks as well as the Irish and Yorkshire equivalents, and Dylan Thomas won the Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes. O’Brien has enjoyed further Classic success this term with Soldier Of Fortune in the Irish Derby, Peeping Fawn in the Irish Oaks and Astronomer Royal in the French 2,000 Guineas. King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes record: 2007-1 DYLAN THOMAS, 2005-5 Ace, 2004-6 Tycoon, 2001-1 GALILEO, 2001-12 Ice Dancer, 1998-8 Risk Material Johnny Murtagh Born in Co Meath, Ireland, on May 14, 1970, Johnny Murtagh, who is married to Orla with two children, was apprenticed to John Oxx and became Irish champion apprentice in 1989.

Weight problems forced him to relinquish his position as stable jockey to Oxx but Murtagh overcame those difficulties and in 1993 finished runner-up in the Irish jockeys' championship. In 1995, he became Irish champion jockey and has since gained international prominence, riding in Dubai during the winter (where he has been champion rider), winning the 1995 Breeders' Cup Mile on Ridgewood Pearl and the following year's Beverly D Stakes on Timarida. He enjoyed a phenomenal international season in 2000, winning 12 Group Ones in six different countries, partnering Sinndar to victory in both the Vodafone Derby and Irish Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, winning the Irish Oaks, Yorkshire Oaks and Prix de l'Opera on Petrushka and the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes and Breeders' Cup Turf on Kalanisi among others.

He was the most successful rider at Royal Ascot in 2001 with five wins, including the Gold Cup on Royal Rebel and St James's Palace Stakes on Black Minnaloushe, aboard whom he also won the 2002 Irish 2,000 Guineas. He won the 2002 2000 Guineas for Aidan O'Brien on Sir Alex Ferguson's Rock Of Gibraltar and landed a second Vodafone Derby aboard what again seemed the O'Brien second string, High Chaparral, and gained a third renewal of the premier Classic with Motivator in 2005. In 2003 he won the Budweiser Irish Derby on Alamshar and took a break in the summer to sort out problems with his back and weight. He relinquished his position as stable jockey to John Oxx in 2004 and had a short-lived spell as stable jockey to David Loder. He is now freelance. During the 2005/06 jump season, Murtagh rode over hurdles and came close to riding a Cheltenham Festival winner when second on Golden Cross in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle.

King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes record: 2007-1 DYLAN THOMAS, 2005-9 Gamut, 2004-8 High Accolade, 2003-1 ALAMSHAR, 2000-3 Daliapour, 1999-5 Sunshine Street

Question: 'Galileo', 'Shatoush' and 'King Of Kings' were all Classic winners ridden by which jockey?
Answer: MICHAEL KINANE